


Broken Nightmares

by ShapeShift



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Precognitive Dreams, Precognitive Keith, Secrets, Slow Burn, at first, i'll add other tags as i go, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 03:46:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14488128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShapeShift/pseuds/ShapeShift
Summary: It wasn’t the first time Keith had a nightmare, far from it actually. It wasn’t the first time he had a nightmare about something that could (Would?) happen in the future either. All the times before however? Were just.. Obvious conclusions. John would be angry on Monday? Well he’s angry almost everyday, nothing new to be learnt. He’s being moved to a different foster family on Friday? Bound to happen anyway, probably overheard someone mentioning it earlier. The Garrison accepts him into the “gifted youngsters” pre-program? Well it was either that or being rejected, forgive his dreams for being hopeful.The Kerberos mission failing horribly due to outside influences? New, but probably just his brain jumping to the worst possible outcome.Probably.





	Broken Nightmares

He was in space. No-yes? No, he was looking at space? He’s not in space. But he is. No wait, he’s standing somewhere, on a surface.. Icy. He’s not there though, there's no evidence of his body, he’ll look down and not be able to see his legs. His legs. Someone else's legs stand beneath him. At least he thinks? No, he knows.... Maybe?

He doesn’t know where he is.. Doesn't know who he is.. But it almost looks like the thousands of pictures he’s seen of the moon? No- Kerberos! Shiro had been practically forcing them down his throat in his excitement. Shiro?..

Screams piece his ears as purple light blind his eyes, and then he’s thrust back into a sweaty bed, his own screams drowning out the ones in his head, his roommate shaking him out of his dazed terror that doesn't feel like his own.  
____

It wasn’t the first time Keith had a nightmare, far from it actually. It wasn’t the first time he had a nightmare about something that could (Would?) happen in the future either. All the times before however? Were just.. Obvious conclusions. John would be angry on Monday? Well he’s angry almost everyday, nothing new to be learnt. He’s being moved to a different foster family on Friday? Bound to happen anyway, probably overheard someone mentioning it earlier. The Garrison accepts him into the “gifted youngsters” pre-program? Well it was either that or being rejected, forgive his dreams for being hopeful.

The Kerberos mission failing horribly due to outside influences? New, but probably just his brain jumping to the worst possible outcome.

Probably.  
____

The nightmares, never changing in their ominous patterns or ever disturbing themes and events, come and go. Some weeks were worse than others. The one thing Keith did know for a fact though, was that he was losing sleep, and a lot of it. And he wasn’t the only one, if the louder and louder complaints of his roommate Dustin were anything to go by.

Keith didn’t blame him, getting repeatedly woken up in the middle of the night to someone screaming or turning and rustling like crazy in their beds? Didn’t sound like much fun. Eventually it got to a point that Dustin even became concerned, and they weren’t even friends, only ever interacting when necessary.

And honestly? It threw Keith off, feeling more and more guilty for each “episode”, as it became referred to.

Some nights were eventually spent drinking a stash of pre-made coffee that would turn cold into the night. All in an effort to stay awake, to chase off the ever-persistent nightmares for just a small period of rest for his mind, even if it meant sacrificing the much-needed sleep his mind begged for.  
____

“Can you believe it? It’s only a week from now.” Shiro glanced over at Keith, oblivious to his dazed distraction with the little light provided by the Garrison. “Frankly, I still find this whole thing hard to believe.” Keith continued to show no signs of acknowledgement towards the words spoken, this time catching the attention of the superior officer. As the silence continued to stretch, Shiro gently placed a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, concern laced in his voice. “Keith? Are you alright?”

With a small jump, Keith whipped his head over in Shiro’s direction, blinking a few times before messaging his forehead. “Sorry, sorry. I just have a headache, that’s all.” He forced a smile as he glanced back up at Shiro again.

Once again, the silence persisted, awkward and overwhelming. Shiro, deciding to instead focus on the stars, made himself comfortable by lying down on the roof, an action soon followed by Keith. Hours seemed to pass before Keith finally spoke up again. “Shiro?”

Unmoving, Shiro continued to watch the stars, studying every last constellation before he would be studying new ones. “Yea?”

“I’ve been thinking.. Are you.. Kerberos it’s-.” Keith paused and sat up, taking a deep breath. “Something isn’t right about it. About the mission.”

Propping himself up on his elbows, Shiro scrunched down his eyebrows in confusion. “What are you talking about?” It seemed to take a while before the question reached Keith’s ears, his gaze unwavering over the expanse of the dark dessert.

“Something just.. feels off. Like- likelike you shouldn't go, like none of you should go.” Keith contemplated telling Shiro about his continuous, vivid, ‘all too real’ nightmares surrounding the future of the mission, yet his common sense screamed at the thought. ‘They’re ridiculous, the dreams, they’re absolutely ridiculous.’

“Keith-”

“Actually, just forget I said anything. I-It's stupid.” ‘And selfish.’ Keith reminded himself. 'That's what it is, what they are, what you’re being, subconsciously or not.'

Shiro sat up and faced Keith. “You know you can tell me anything, right Keith? It’s cliché, sure, but it's true.” Shiro smiled as a chuckle escaped the smaller boy.

Keith chuckled gently. “It’s also cheesy.”  
Shiro grinned. “Very cheesy.” His gaze continued to fixate on the younger boy, lightly trying to encourage the other to speak once again. Keith glanced back at Shiro, and quickly averted his eyes once again, slowly bringing his knees up to his chest, an action Shiro recognised as something the boy would do when he felt unsure of himself.

“I’ve been having a lot of nightmares lately.” It was said as if it would explain everything to Shiro, and in some ways it did. Anyone could see the continuously darkening circles under his eyes, something Shiro would later, much later, recognise as a warning sign.

Shiro sighed and focussed his gaze back out on the desert landscape beneath them. “Me and Matt kinda noticed. You’ve been pretty sleep-deprived for a while now, you know, more than usual.” Shiro attempted a smile, yet he’s pretty sure it failed to be all that reassuring. “We kinda hoped you’d eventually tell us why, since you tend to put up this wall when questioned.” And yes, that was true. Matt had wanted to confront Keith as soon as he noticed, but it had been Shiro who had held him back. He still can’t decipher whether or not that had been a good decision.

“I figured, you and Matt aren’t exactly known for being subtle.” Keith knew he was avoiding the important subject at hand, but he didn’t think he could bring himself to tell Shiro the details. He was trapped, because either way, he felt like he was going to lose Shiro. Tell him everything? Yeah right, like a kid with a couple of stupid nightmares would discourage him from going on his dream mission. Plus, it isn’t fair for Shiro. This mission meant everything to him, to be chosen as one of the crewmembers for the Kerberos mission? What an honour.

Yet, not telling him.. That felt almost worse somehow. The nightmares... They had all been so real. So deafening. So imminent.

And in that moment, Keith realised that maybe he couldn’t stop it, that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t meant to stop it. Like-like this was something that would have to happen, whatever ‘this’ was. He clenched his fists in frustration.

“I know, I know this sounds stupid and probably insane. But, I’ve been having these nightmares, and by ‘nightmares’ I mean like, the same one over and over and-” Keith paused, and drew in a shaking breath. “-and I’m scared? Because they’re always real, too real. I’m-” Keith felt the familiar pressure of a gentle hand on his shoulder, an action he logically knew was meant to ground him, but only made his anxiety grow. He stopped, unsure of how to continue. His self doubts pushing themselves further and further forward, because this entire thing is just stupid. What if Shiro thought he’d gone crazy. Freakishly paranoid? He wouldn’t blame him, because he defiantly thought the same. Worse, what if Shiro thought he wanted to sabotage his achievements and happiness? Afterall, if it weren’t for his age, he’d have been considered for the mission too, or so he’d been told. “-I’m sorry.” 

“Keith they’re just-”

“Just nightmares. I know. Trust me, I get that. All I’m saying is, the Kerberos mission is bad news, not that you shouldn’t go. Actually, no, I don’t think you should go, but that’s something I have no say in. I just want you to be careful ok? Extra careful when you’re on Kerberos. ‘Cus we’re always talking about aliens right? Matt and me? Well this isn’t just me being ‘Ohhhhh what if aliens!’” Keith made some small dramatic jazz hands, and let out a chuckle that almost sounded like a sob. After another deep breath, he turned and faced Shiro, keeping their gazes locked. “I know I sound crazy, and yes, maybe it’s my sleep deprived mind that’s grown too attached to someone to just let them fly off into space to some remote moon. Because that’s by far the most realistic scenario.”

Keith sighed, chest heaving slightly. Shiro continued to listen quietly, again, smiling at Keith to signify that, no, he wasn’t judging. He didn’t think he was some freak fixating on some petty issue. That alone gave Keith the courage he needed to say exactly what he needed to. “Please, just, promise me, look out for yourself. And the others, the others too, but also yourself.”

Keith might not be able to stop the crew from going to Kerberos, stop Shiro from going to Kerberos, but damn it to hell, he was going to warn them.

Shiro smiled, and reached out his smallest finger. “I pinkie promise.”

Keith laughed, wiped the tears he didn’t realise he’d been shedding, and connected his own finger to Shiro’s. “You pinkie promise.”

Keith might’ve ended up falling asleep on Shiro’s shoulder that night. Maybe he had a full night’s sleep for the first time in 3 weeks that night. Maybe there was some feeling of contentedness, of peace that night. 

Even if his mind fell victim to the numbing sensation of dread.  
____

“Breaking News: Kerberos Mission Failed.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this fic in mind for a while now, mainly because I think Keith's sensitivity to quintessence isn't really explored that often. While I doubt he can see the future in canon, there's no denying he has some weird sense of knowing exactly whats going on and what he needs to do. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the first little chapter!


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